The Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, has received two new hostels worth N550 million from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), as part of its 2020 special intervention. The hostels, one for male and one for female students, were inaugurated on Saturday by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, a member of the Senate Committee on Education and TETFund.
Senator Ubah, who represents Anambra South Senatorial District, commended TETFund for its support to the Oko polytechnic and other tertiary institutions in the country. He said the National Assembly would collaborate with the executive to improve the quality of education in Nigeria through legislation and oversight.
He also disclosed that TETFund had sponsored 101 lecturers from Oko polytechnic for their Ph.D programmes and 60 lecturers for their Masters Degrees in foreign and local institutions, at a total cost of N780,630,116.10. In addition, he said TETFund had sponsored 90 staff for conferences locally and abroad, at a cost of N111,471,159.50.
He urged the management of the polytechnic to make good use of the hostels and ensure the security and welfare of the students.
The executive secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, who was represented by Babatunde Olajide, the director of monitoring and evaluation department, said the hostels would address the accommodation challenges faced by the students and enhance their learning environment. He said TETFund was committed to providing adequate funding to all public beneficiary institutions and ensuring that they attain global standards in academic excellence.
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He said the project was in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which aims to transform the education sector in Nigeria.
The rector of Oko polytechnic, Francisca Nwafulugo, expressed gratitude to TETFund for the hostels and other interventions. She said the hostels would enable more students to live within the campus and improve their academic performance and social interaction. She assured that the polytechnic would maintain the hostels and other facilities provided by TETFund.